Abstract
Background
Inclusive music-making requires instruments that support varied bodies, abilities, musical backgrounds, and forms of participation. Digital musical instruments provide diverse approaches to sound creation, and fabric-based interfaces offer an alternative interaction modality that may support participation for some users and contexts. Their tactile and deformable properties enable forms of interaction that differ from conventional rigid or screen-based controllers and may offer inclusive possibilities in particular settings.
Objective
This paper presents HarmonicThreads as a formative interaction-design case of a fabric-based digital musical instrument. The prototype explores how tactile cues, fabric deformation, projected visual feedback, and assisted accompaniment can support low-barrier music-making. We examine first-use discovery, perceived musical agency, and design considerations intended to inform the development of future fabric-based, accessible digital musical instruments.
Methods
We conducted a formative mixed-methods evaluation with 20 adult participants. Participants used HarmonicThreads in independent play, where conductive threads directly triggered notes, and assisted play, where sustained contact generated automated melodic accompaniment. Data included observations, SUS and UEQ-S responses, semi-structured interviews, and participant-generated design sketches.
Results
Participants treated the fabric surface as an instrument, using raised threads to identify playable regions, form spatial pitch expectations, and experiment with chords, rhythm, and sustained notes. Qualitative results show that assisted play supported immediate musical engagement, while independent play supported greater perceived control. The study also revealed accessibility-relevant barriers, including uncertain activation thresholds, perceived fragility, thin and closely spaced threads, posture and fatigue, ambiguous visual feedback, and limited expressive mappings.
Conclusion
HarmonicThreads contributes a formative design case for inclusive digital music technology. We identify design considerations for tactile legibility, low-effort activation, ergonomic support, transparent multimodal feedback, configurable scaffolding, richer sonic mappings, and future participatory evaluation with intended users and real music-making contexts.